The Spanish Government founded the secondary school in 1845, as part of a major plan to improve access to secondary studies. To enable this, a school was founded in every
provincial capital. On 17 September a new secondary school was established in Girona, at the ancient monastery of the
Friars Minor Capuchin. With few resources, provided by the provincial government (called
Diputació provincial) the school bought important collections in
Paris of
natural history,
botany,
chemistry and
physics, as well as creating an important
library for alumni and, at the same time, for the inhabitants of the city of Girona. Since 1966 the school has been located in a new building, built in uptown Girona. This modern site was well-furnished for the education requirements of those times. Currently, the school is the leading secondary education centre in the province of Girona, with renovated facilities and some experimental courses, like the
IB Diploma Programme since 1999. Also, the Senior Management Team led by Estanislau Puig created the "Institut Jaume Vicens Vives Foundation" (''Fundació de l'Institut Jaume Vicens Vives''), and a Board of Former Alumni, to support these new experiences. Currently, the school is fitted with a gymnasium, a library, two computer laboratories, a physics lab, a biology lab and a chemistry lab, as well as two technology workshops, a theater and a farm. During the COVID-19 pandemic, adjacent spaces such as the Bonavista park and the Muralles park were used as a PE field. ==Principals of the school==